TheMoonEmpress

Ju Jing Yi's acting leaves much to be desired. I gave this one a peak because I like JZ in the ultimate note. But I don't think I can handle JJY's bland acting for 40 episodes.

I will watch the blue whisper only for HYX. She doesn't have any other projects lined up for 2022 so this will be the only drama to watch her in.

Yes, I actually like how different her character in ARRTI is... It helped us to see her amazing acting skills in the emotional moments. I hope she takes on a wide variety of roles because she definitely has the range. A badass role would definitely help her, since her role in The Mysterious world is kinda like that and she was convincing in some parts but she needed some more work on her acting in others. And she was very much a newbie then. Hence, I think, a badass or conniving role would really expand her range even more. I guess she is not filming anything right now. I like that she is selective about her scripts now, everything she has chosen since 2019-20 has been pretty successful.

Yes, me too. Tall, broad and well built men give me the butterflies. Quite rare in asian dramas too.

I am a viewer and consumer of her drama, just like any other consumer. I too have some knowledge about mass media and what is required for an actor and actress to be called versatile. ZLS and JJY are okay in the roles they're comfortable in (although I really don't think that JJY can act, her face is not emotive at all) but they're not what I'll call versatile. What happens to Xiao Wu is supposed to be one of the most painful moment in TLB, but that pain didn't reach me because ZLS crying scenes were not natural at all. You could clearly see that she was "acting" And hence , one of the most painful moments lost its momentum for me. Nothing against ZLS, i did like her in TROTAR and TLB, but her emotional acting and crying scenes does need work.

And his physical stature is also quite broad.

I think so too since it has already received its airing license... It wrapped filming almost in 2019 or 2020....but nothing can be said when it comes to the Chinese dramaland

I hope the airing of this drama does not clash with Mirror Twin Cities. That's also another highly anticipated drama based on the merfolk theme...and rumours are circulating that it is also set to begin its promotion, likely even airing by the end of this year.

The chemistry between the main leads more than made up for the flaws of this drama for me.

He is a good character. They're not biologically related as Chu Yue is the adopted daughter of the emperor

You can read my review if you want more details before you decide. It's spoiler free but will give you an overall idea of the strengths and weaknesses. It's quite long and detailed lol, I have lots of thoughts about this drama and characters. And I still think about them.

Xu Kai Cheng looks like a giant among all the other actors.

Caesar wu's and Miles Wei's styling looks so good. 😍

I like both Miles Wei and Ye Sheng Jia, both great at acting.

I don't think they were replaced. I've seen in multiple places that she turned it down. She is very selective about her scripts, i think going by what we've seen from her so far

Tbh i don't know why we are discussing Lu Si on this drama page. But I have to say, I've watched Lu Si in ALOTY and TLB and, although i really enjoyed her dramas TROTAR and TLB, I have to say that her acting needs improvement, especially emotional and crying scenes. You can immediately tell that she is "acting" when she does those intensely emotional scenes. Her acting in those scenes looks so fake that I was instantly pulled out of the story, hence Xiao Wu's character arc was not that impactful for me, because her crying scenes were not convincing at all, to me. And even in ALOTY, the serious scenes were poorly acted and executed. She can definitely improve if she keeps taking such roles. She doesn't have that range at the moment though.

I personally don't like her acting, it's almost always flat for me, including in this drama which lead me to have the opinion that she can't act. There is no emotion on her face, nothing to draw me in as a viewer or to become invested in her character and story. Her looks are also not up my alley, at least not enough to make me overlook her rather flat and wan acting. She is pretty and all but I personally like to watch the dramas with great acting and not solely for the eye candy.

This is the best work of WRC for me. Lu Shi Yi is his triumph, his acting chops are really on display in this drama. In fact, the entire cast has really acted well. Especially, our main leads Hu Yi Xuan and Wang Rui Chang. Their chemistry is palpable in every scene. You will be rooting for them in the entire series. WRC has played LSY in such a way that you can't imagine anyone else being Shiyi than him. He has outdone himself in this drama <3. You should definitely watch this drama for the excellent acting of every cast member, especially HYX and WRC, and the insane chemistry between them, if nothing else. And the ending is good, it only lacks in comparison with the rest of the drama. If you're like me, a veteran viewer of cdramas, then you can actually manage your expectations and still enjoy the ending quite a lot. As I've said in my review, no other ending would be acceptable to you once you know these characters and see them together on screen.

Yes, her whole online and long distance relationship with Bao Bao would've been so fun to watch!

I really liked reading this discussion thread because it shows how thought provoking this drama is and how we all took different things from it. Personally, for me, i kind of empathise more with the FL than the ML. I agree with you that Shiyi is probably the best male lead I've seen in chinese dramas. But he is flawed. He was emotionally stunted and had trouble showing his love and care initially. He would hide his real feelings behind lies and teasing, in the process even hurting Xiaoju sometimes (like outside the cinema, when Xiaoju was already feeling insecure and sad at having been stood up). Even when he came back, the writers' decision to create more misunderstandings did not do anything for his character development. It comes through very well in their respective acting. I mean, if my best friend went away without saying goodbye or any explanation, broke all contact with me for 5 years and after coming back, acts cold and distant and when asked if we know each other, replies "not very well"; then even i would be a bit hesitant about laying myself open in front of him and telling him how miserable i was without him for 5 years. So I find those actions of Xiaoju understandable, especially with the way Shiyi's character is written when he comes back. I mean,the whole roles reversing and Shiyi testing her is fun to watch, but it really didn't do anything for their character growth. We as viewers have the benefit of seeing everything that is happening behind Xiaoju's back(pertaining to Shiyi) but of course, Xiaoju the character doesn't know it (she can only take things at face value, whatever Shiyi says, she believes). Hence, for me, Xiaoju turned out to be the bigger sufferer in this case. What an emotional journey she's been through, throughout the drama, even towards the end when she realises Shiyi has changed so much and starts believing that Shiyi is playing with her feelings. I also like how flawed and realistic the characters are in this drama. And the story does punish them for their flaws and stupidity. For egs, xiaoju's propensity to hesitate and second guess everything caused her to be separated from her best friend for whom she had just realised her feelings. For Shiyi, his habit of eavesdropping caused a misunderstanding that was so trivial yet hurt him so much. So in all, their flaws and stupid actions are shown to have consequences which i liked about this drama. Yes, the last two episodes could've been executed better, but overall the long, drawn out journey was more beautiful and meaningful to me than the destination.